The report, released Thursday morning, is based on a single-night count made at the end of January of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people. The Oregon count showed a decrease of 1,658 homeless people in 2014 from a year earlier.

Oregon also saw a 38.2 percent decline in homeless people over the past 4 years, dropping from 19,492 people in 2010 to 12,164 in 2014.

Other Oregon specifics from the 68-page report include:

A 50.7 percent decline -- from 8,761 in 2010 to 4,322 in 2014 -- in the number of individuals in Oregon families who were experiencing homelessness.

A 50.6 percent decline -- from 12,261 in 2010 to 6,063 in 2014 -- in the number of unsheltered homeless in the state.

A 15.6 percent decline -- from 7,231 in 2010 to 6,101 in 2014 -- in the number of homeless people in shelters in Oregon.

Only in three states -- Oregon, Florida and Tennessee -- were more than a third of homeless people in families found in unsheltered locations.

In three major cities, more than 90 percent of the chronic homeless population was unsheltered: Fresno, California (96%); Las Vegas (95%); and Portland (90%).

Oregon ranked last among five states with the highest numbers of unsheltered, unaccompanied homeless children and youth, with 660 unsheltered out of a total of 1,096 homeless.

Oregon was also last among five states with the highest rates of unsheltered, chronically homeless individuals, with 1,702 unsheltered people out of 2,207 homeless individuals.

The total number of homeless people in Multnomah County decreased from 4,441 in 2013 to 3,927 in 2014. In Washington County, the number of homeless increased from 432 to 537. And, in Clackamas County, the number held steady, with 619 in 2013 and 618 in 2014.

In a teleconference Thursday morning, HUD Secretary Julián Castro said both locally and nationally, officials have "broken free from old assumptions" to make a real impact on reducing homelessness.

"As a nation, we are successfully reducing homelessness in this country, especially for those who have been living on our streets as a way of life," Castro said. "There is still a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, but it's clear our strategy is working and we're going to push forward till we end homelessness as we've come to know it."

In Oregon, it's important to remember how the counts are made year-to-year, said Alison McIntosh, communications liaison for Oregon Housing and Community Services.

"As a result of the way communities across the country conduct Point in Time counts each year, it's difficult to compare counts year over year, " McIntosh said. "We know that too many Oregonians are still experiencing homelessness, and while these numbers accurately reflect the number of people in shelters, they may not accurately reflect those living outside or camping."